Life, knitting and sewing with a dash of vintage flair.

August 04, 2011

Lisette Portfolio Dress

I've been meaning to post, but I've been busy trying to finish up my knitting project to enter into the Big E fair this year, as well as trying to pull myself away from the sewing machine. Both have been keeping me busy, but the results on both projects aren't really making me happy.

I finally finished my first ever dress. I was so excited about this one. After seeing so many people wearing the cutest Cal Patch dresses while at Squam I was anxious to make something similar. I had picked up Simplicity Lisette 2245 at my local Joann's, finding it similar to Cal Patch's tunic dresses and had some cute details. I really loved the fabric on the pattern envelope and had to pick some of that up to make my dress.

The pattern sewed up easily enough. The directions were clear for the most part. I really like how the dress came out. It's really cute, and would look great on it's own or with a pair of leggings.

There is really just one little problem. It doesn't fit.

In my eternally frustrating way, I didn't really pay close attention to the measurements and just went ahead and made the largest size, assuming it would fit. Well we all know happens when you assume things, and now I have a really cute dress on my hands that I can't wear. It's terribly depressing, especially as it looks huge on the hanger. I look at the dress now and think - Wow, I'm huge. A closer look at the measurements on the envelope tell me the truth. I actually would have needed the next size up (if they made it).

Yes for the most part. I had a few times when I had to stop and think things through a bit, because the terms them were using to refer to the dress and the facings were sounding an awful lot alike, but they were clear once I got that straight.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I pretty much liked everything about this pattern (other than the fact that it doesn't fit). I love the pockets and the button loops at the back of the neck. I used a couple of vintage buttons off an old Lilly Pulitzer dress. I know they'll never really be seen , but they add just the right vintage touch to this dress. They suit it.

I did have some issues with the collar, even though they weren't major problems. First I melted the interfacing a bit while pressing it, leaving a few permanent wrinkles in the fabric. I also had an awfully fiddly time attaching it to the neck to the dress. Nearly all of the notches and seams matched up perfectly, but on mirror sides on the front, near the side seams I had too much collar piece and not enough neckline. It took quite a bit of work to fit it in, and I had to do a bit of adjusting to do it.

What fabric was used?

Cotton lawn from the Lisette line that I purchased at my local Joann's. It's the same fabric on the project envelope.

Any pattern changes made?

The only thing I changed was how I stitched my button loops. The instructions had you sew the seam and then turn them inside out. I found them way to small to flip, so I folded the seam allowances in and then stitched them from the outside. Yes I can now see the stitch line, but the loops were so small I didn't think it really mattered, especially as they are at the back of the neck.

I also sewed my dress using french seams whenever possible, and really like how polished they look.

Would you recomend the pattern or make it again?

I'd recomend it in a heartbeat to anyone else. It was simple and looks great. I probably wouldn't make it again unless I lost weight and fit into a pattern size. Sure I could try to resize it, but I ordered Cal Patch's book from Amazon and have plans to draft my own pattern to make one of her dresses. (Probably the way I should have done it right from the start). I had wanted to pick up her book at Squam, but she had sold out.

I was also going to write about my vintage socks debacle, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

@Becca - I adore it. My mother suggested that I try to sell it on E-bay, but right now my planis to just hold on to it. I've been wanting to try to lose a bit of weight, so if I could drop a size it would fit fine. Unfortunately all my lovely french seams mean I can't easily just let them out a bit.